Sol Magazine, A Poetry Journal: An international
organization of Members and Volunteers interested in the education of poets.
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SOL MAGAZINE
JUDGES:
KATHY PAUPORE
PAULA MARIE BENTLEY
MARY BURLINGAME
FEATURED ARTICLE - June
Note: This link is on a separate web page and will exit you from the current edition.
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CONTENTS of this page:
NOTE: Because of staff vacations, only one contest was held in June.DEDICATION: To Sol Magazine's all volunteer staff—these hard-working dedicated folks have other jobs and interests, yet take many hours each month in which to pull together interesting contests, informative material, and a final edition that showcases the work of many poets. Thank you for everything! |
FIRST PLACE
WINNER OF A $30.00 ELECTRONIC BOOK GIFT CERTIFICATE
Arachne’s Daughters, Micah and MeCOMMENTS: There is lovely movement throughout this poem with the parallel of weaving and friendship. Good use of color and descriptive words. The metaphor of weaving has been used many times before in poetry, but rarely with such skill and balance as in this poem. The poet shows how the communication and understanding between two people grows into a beautifly woven friendship. Wonderful use of color. Inspiring, triumphant tone.
I trade a thread of rust for hers of umber.
We met in the dusty streets of cities that don’t exist.
I had written about mine. She had illustrated hers.
We stood on each other’s thresholds,
Looking into a land of “oohs” and “ahhs.”The shuttle flies back to me with a contrail of silver.
Laughing, I stomp the pedals of our loom, fling it back
Winged with the gold of distant suns. Between us,
We weave images with words and colors. We are
The warp and weft of the worlds we share.Threads fine as spiderfloss, threads thick as wool …
We work out the tangles with patient fingertips.
We watch nature and mankind, blend fantasy and reality,
Sculpt silk and sand. This is our passion, our discipline.
Even if we were blind our hands would know their way.The loom sings the deep-throated music of our love
For this weaving of words, for the friendship we share. I
Send off summer-colored yarns and receive tropical sunsets
In return. The moments of our lives glitter in the sun. We
Inspire one another, make our threads brighter, stronger.Cerulean peace, fizzy crimson indignation, white hope:
We weave our lives together with these threads. We cut
The cloth from its frame, hang it flapping for all to see,
Holding tight to each other. Tapestries. Histories. Yes.
We are Arachne’s daughters, Micah and me.We weave fate in pictures and fiction…some times in fact.
Elizabeth Barrette, Charleston, IL, USA
Smelling the Roses With Pat MeeksCOMMENTS: Enjoyable look at a friendship shared through writing. Wouldn't we all like to give up the 9-5 and spend our time writing! Good use of enjambment toAha! Here we are, relishing our slowdown years
after eighty plus between us, work-force duties
and demands of nine to five have ceased, leaving time
for grandsons’ visitations and hours to penand improve this craft we’ve longed to perfect,
polish and smooth out. Dictionaries and Thesauruses
lay opened throughout our home as ink fills blank
paper and inner thoughts of emotions are waiting
to see print. The first draft written by me
and proofread by Pat; he checks correct uses of words,
spelling, phrases, singular or plural tenses,
subject and verb parallels, then sometimessuggestions erupt into spells of opposition
until I realize, he’s the English graduate; I’m the
"I wish I had gone in that field" graduate.
We compromise, the message mine, refined words his;we let it blossom while we visit our grandsons, our roses.
Carol Meeks, Artesia, NM, USA
James William HightowerCOMMENTS: Effective use of enjambment. Interesting look at friends balancing the good with the bad. The familiar phrase, "Friendship divides sorrow/and multiplies joy," seems fresh here and makes a wonderful closing. Friendship and mathmatics seem an unlikely pairing for metaphor, but in this poem, the comparison is perfect. Like any good formula, there is nothing superflous in this poem. While every word fits neatly, the emotional power of the poem is greater
Each day I total up my problems
And call them in to Jim
He assigns a numeric value for each
Like an auditor enters them on a spreadsheet
Before calculating the current summary
James asks me for my list of pleasures
Then arrives at a positive balance
I am reminded of his favorite quote:
Friendship divides sorrow
And multiplies joy
Kay Lay Earnest, Smyrna, GA, USA
Knitting with Sarah
It's the second Tuesday of the month.
I'm frazzled, tired, about to unravel but in
the back of my mind I'm excited. I'll be seeing
Sarah tonight. Without fail for the last
seven years we've met at the bookstore
café across town, needles and wool of
many colours in tow. With every knit and
purl we share the bits and pieces of our lives,
good and bad, but mostly we talk about
nonsense like what we would do if we
met Brad Pitt. For seven years we've
exchanged our ideas, our patterns, and our
needles. What started as a knitting group has
become a rendezvous for two. After hours
laughing, coffee and a few rows of
knitting, (Sometimes only a row because
of more chatting than knitting.) we'll pack
up our gear. A warm hug like the softest sweater
ends our evening. I'll return home, refreshed,
ready to face my life not quite forgotten.
A new outlook and kiss for my husband
and then I'll check on the kids fast asleep in
bed. My bag gets tucked in the closet until the
next Tuesday when I can steal away a few
hours. Sharing a sliver of myself with
Sarah brings the frayed edges of my life together.
M. E. Wood, Belleville, ON, CAN
COMMENTS: Nice tribute to a lasting friendship and how it does
pull our edges
together and help us look at things more clearly. Well-chosen
words that emphaise the warmth of the relationship.
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